


Little Changes

by levrispero



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Implied Relationships, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23308117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/levrispero/pseuds/levrispero
Summary: Asra had done anything and everything it took to have his apprentice back. He could wait for them to be strong enough to remember their love, return to the way things were. If only that were in the cards...Written with they/them pronouns
Relationships: Apprentice/Asra (The Arcana), Apprentice/Julian Devorak
Kudos: 18





	Little Changes

The Magician had warned him things wouldn’t be the same, but that was obvious. Asra knew that his apprentice wouldn’t remember dying. That he would have to help them relearn everything: how to eat, to bathe, to dress. That their original ‘meet-cute’ in the marketplace would just be a ‘meet’ at their bedside. He would have his beloved apprentice back; that was all that mattered. 

The first time was innocuous, a simple change in taste.

‘You want the blueberry? You hate blueberries,’ Asra asked, white brows rising slightly. His apprentice shot him a perplexed look and nodded, handing Selasi a few coins. He watched carefully as they took an enormous bite of the pastry, jam spilling out onto their cheeks and fingers. They licked the fruit from their lips, their cheeky grin stained indigo. He chuckled, though the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Everyone’s palate changes, whether they’ve been resurrected from the dead or not. No cause for concern. Despite this, Asra’s gut clenched uneasily and he pushed away the slice of pumpkin bread.

The second time was a shock, but easily written off. 

Asra heaved a sigh of relief as he entered their little shop, dusty and travel-worn. He ruffled out his hat hair and called out a cheery ‘I’m home!’ as he hung up his bag. His apprentice bounded around the corner and swept him into an enthusiastic hug. He returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around them tightly. But the long braid that had always, always reached the middle of their back was missing. He jerked back, holding them at arms length.

‘You... ah, you cut your hair!’ he murmured, trying to keep a neutral face to conceal his heart beating a little faster. 

‘I did! Don’t you love it?’ His apprentice beamed, flipping a hand through locks that barely fell past their chin. ‘It’s so much easier to open the shop in the morning without having to brush it out…’ As they carried on, giving him a quick rundown of all of the latest gossip in Vesuvia, he shoved the bejeweled hairpin deeper into his pocket. They looked stunning, of course! It was just surprise. His next trip kept him away a little longer than the last.

The third time, he could no longer deny the truth.

When his apprentice burst through the door that fateful evening, the way their face crumpled was horribly, painfully to familiar to him. The last time he had seen that expression was as he had slammed the shop door four years ago, damning his apprentice to their fate at the hands of the plague. It was a face he vowed they would never make again. 

His half of their shared heart cracked at way their voice warbled when they choked out “Julian…” That was the part of their life they remembered? They could forget the love they had with Asra, but could recall flirting with the fool who got them killed? He gripped the table tightly, until his knuckles turned white to stop the room from spinning. Asra took a deep breath. Two. Three.

‘I’ll wake the stove salamander; there’s always a story if Julian’s involved…’ He said forcing a soft, sad smile. Asra busied himself preparing two cups of tea, for comfort and to wash the acrid taste of ash out of his mouth.

His apprentice wasn’t quite his apprentice anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written a fic in literally 10 years, but there it goes. My apprentice fell for Julian from the moment of his (first) dramatic break in. But I couldn't help but wonder if Asra saw it coming, if he had any premonitions that it would never get back to the way things were.


End file.
